A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

dunkin donuts

A siesta at the Dunk

It’s the little things in life that mean the most.

No, no, no… I’m not going to quote the Zak Brown Band. I’m talking about the things that make you smile and know that doing something for a day was well worth it.

Let me backtrack a little here.

A few weeks ago, two of us ventured to Albany on an extremely cold and brisk Saturday evening. The goal was to capture some night photography for a 52-week challenge we both take part in. And, to be fair, Albany really is one of the best places for night photos in regard to places close to us. With the Empire State Plaza as a starting point, it’s a great area.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29760317@N08/8482022225/in/photostream

Catching a couple o’ zzzzs at the Dunk.

I did mention it was cold, right?

The temperature seemed to be about 15-20 degrees, which isn’t that bad. But add in the wind and it was brutal at times.

So after a little more than an hour of snapping photos outside in this weather, it was decided it was time for a quick bite to eat. Alas, I obviously wasn’t up to spending a ton of money. A quick check on the phone showed a Dunkin’ Donuts being close by. Off we went.

As we started in, I saw this one gentleman. He looked like he was praying before eating. That’s nothing out of the blue, I’ve seen it times before. He had a newspaper, a cup of coffee and seemed content. But I saw every once in a while, he’d peer at somebody.

We ordered our food and sat across from this gentleman. He had looked at us once or twice. As we were eating, I heard it.

A loud snore.

Now I’ve been know to snag a siesta in odd sports, so I can’t blame the guy. When you’re tired, you’re tired. And, well, sometimes you just close the eyes for a moment or two and you’re out.

It still doesn’t take away from the humor.

Needless to say, we got a few laughs out of it. Especially when we heard a few more snores. Using the hashtag #dunkinsnore seemed appropriate.

A few moments later, one of the workers came out and checking to see how people were doing. She had a louder voice, so we were like “don’t wake the guy up.”

He must be a regular. She laughed and went over and said “Hey David, wake up!” And the guy, groggy and all, looked up. Must be a heck of a good place for a nap, then.

When we left, his head was back down.

Like I said, if you’re tired, you’re tired.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

30-2 Days of Writing/Life with Earl: Whatever, dude (17/28)

Life With Earl is a semi-regular feature on A ‘lil HooHaa. For the back story, click “Earl” at the top of the page to see past stories. This is a shorter version of Earl than I’d normally do… but Earl was in a bit of a rush today.

Oh, Earl.

For those who don’t know Earl, allow me to tell you something about him — he loves donuts. When I say love, I mean full-out, unadulterated, unhealthy love.

There are often times we meet Earl at the local Dunkin’ Donuts to chat about what’s going on in the world.

Sometimes, though, it can be hard to absorb Earl’s obsession with donuts.

See, whenever Earl finds out about something — like when it’s time to make the donuts — he’ll go off into an excited tangent. That usually means one of us — me, Jay or the Big Easy — will be getting a call exclaiming pure excitement about the donut and Earl’s love of said donut.

That’s why the early morning wakeup call both surprised me and didn’t surprise me.

“WOOOOOO WEEEEE P.J.!! THERE”S A NEW DONUT!”

“Hi, Earl. Thanks for waking me up for that news report.”

“THERE’S RED VELVET DONUTS AT THE DUNK! RED VELVET! DID YOU HEAR ME? RED VELVET!!”

“I heard you, Earl. No need to shout. It’s six a.m. on a Sunday for goodness sake.”

“THIS IS AWESOME THOUGH!”

“Earl, calm down. It’s red velvet. You realize it’s a cake with some food coloring, right? And I think that donut has been out for a few months. I thought it left with the holidays?”

“NO WAY DUDE! I JUST SAW THE SIGN IN THE WINDOW! WE NEED TO GO!”

Usually, I’m all about meeting up with Earl. See, Earl is a constant source of entertainment for those who know him. And, well, even for some who don’t know him. And, often when he calls, we’ll all get together and go see Earl because we never know what’s on his mind.

This time wasn’t one of them.

Especially at 6 a.m.

Over a donut that may or may not still be in production. But the sign says different.

I just couldn’t handle Earl at this moment. And I needed to get rid of him and turn the phone on silent. So I did it quick.

“Whatever, dude.”

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To read other stories about Earl, click here.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!